Gaining weight after a long ride?

[michelem]

It's funny, I've got the "what to eat while running" down - water and Hammer Gel. It's that pre run meal that's getting me. I think it's that I can ride or swim when I've recently eaten. But for running, my stomach seems to prefer being empty. And I hate the idea of eating Hammer gel for breakfast.

Veronica

Actually, Hammer recommends NOT eating any sooner than 3 hours before running, cycling, swimming, etc. I find I do much better when I follow this protocol.

THE PRE-RACE MEAL
How many times have you had a bite
(or more) from an energy bar, taken a
swig (or more) from an energy drink, or
eaten a meal just an hour or two before
taking your position at the starting line
of a long distance race? Big mistake!

Eating this soon before prolonged
exercise is actually counterproductive
and will hurt your performance. In the
sometimes confusing world of sports
supplementation and fueling, the
pre-race meal generates arguably the
greatest confusion, and many athletes
have paid a hefty performance price
for their misinformation. But really,
there’s no insider secret to the pre-race
meal, just some effective strategies and
guidelines. You need to know what to
eat, how much, and most importantly,
when. You also need to know a bit about
glycogen storage, depletion, and resupply,
and how to use that knowledge at
the practical level. This article supplies
all of the information you need, and I’ve
also included some suggested meals,
equally appropriate for workouts as well
as competition.
The pre-race meal goal
Assuming that your race starts in the
morning, the purpose of your pre-race
meal is to top off liver glycogen stores,
which your body has expended during
your night of sleep. Muscle glycogen,
the first fuel recruited when exercise
commences, remains intact overnight.
If you had a proper recovery meal after
your last workout, you’ll have a full
load of muscle glycogen on board, which
constitutes about 80% of your total
glycogen stores. If you didn’t re-supply
with complex carbs and protein after your
last workout, there’s nothing you can
do about it now; in fact, you’ll only hurt
yourself by trying. To repeat: during sleep,
your liver-stored glycogen maintains
proper blood glucose level; you expend
nary a calorie of your muscle glycogen.
You might wake up feeling hungry, and
I’ll discuss that issue later, but you’ll have
a full supply of muscle-stored glycogen,
your body’s first used and main energy
source. Your stomach might be saying,
“I’m hungry,” but your muscles are
saying, “Hey, we’re good to go!”
With only your liver-stored glycogen
to top off, you want a light pre-race
nutrition meal. Sports nutrition expert
Bill Misner, Ph.D., advises that a
pre-race meal should be “an easily
digested, high complex carbohydrate
meal of between 200-400 calories with
a minimum of fiber, simple sugar, and
fat.” That’s hardly what most people
would call a meal, but in terms of prerace
fueling, it’s meal enough. According
to Dr. Misner, fat slows digestion
and has no positive influence on fuels
metabolized during an event. He further
states that a high fiber pre-race meal
may “create the call for an unscheduled
and undesirable bathroom break in the
middle or near the end of the event.”
Complex carbohydrates & protein
One study found that athletes who
drank a pre-race meal consisting of
both carbohydrates and a small amount
of protein had better performances
than when they consumed only an allcarbohydrate
sports drink. With that
in mind, here are three pre-race meal
possibilities that would not only be
highly effective, they are quick and easy
to prepare as well:
• Sustained Energy which contains
both complex carbohydrates and soy
protein
• Perpetuem, which contains complex
carbohydrates, soy protein, and a
small donation of healthy fats
• A combination of Sustained Energy
+ Hammer Gel or HEED
If you do feel the need for solid food,
choose high starch foods such as
skinless potatoes, bananas, rice, pasta,
plain bagels, low fat active culture
yogurt, tapioca, and low fiber hot
cereals. You can find a few pre-race
meal recipes at the end of this article
that use these products.
The key - allow three hours or more!
Equally as important as what you eat
is when you eat your pre-race meal.
Authorities such as Dr. Misner, Dr.
Michael Colgan, and Dr. David Costill
all agree that the pre-race meal should
be eaten 3-4 hours prior to the event.
Dr. Misner suggests the athlete “leave
three hours minimum to digest foods
eaten at breakfast. After breakfast,
drink 10-12 ounces of fluid each hour
up to 30 minutes prior to the start
(24-30 ounces total fluid intake).” Note:
other acceptable pre-race fluid intake
suggestions can be found in the article
“Hydration—What You Need To Know.”
Three hours allows enough time for
your body to fully process the meal.